A bipartisan drive to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies is gaining notable traction in the House, with 16 Republicans now co-sponsoring the effort, Politico reported Wednesday, citing an official list it reviewed.
The legislation, authored by Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., seeks a one-year extension of the boosted premium tax credits first expanded in the COVID-era.
Those subsidies are to expire Dec. 31, and their looming end has triggered sharp divides in the House GOP conference — particularly among moderates who say leadership has not offered a credible alternative for Americans facing steep premium increases.
In a closed-door conference meeting Wednesday, centrist Republicans voiced frustration that the House GOP's upcoming healthcare package does not address the expiring tax credits, according to Politico.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is now confronting the possibility that moderates could join Democrats in signing a discharge petition, a rarely used maneuver that would bypass leadership and force a floor vote on extending the subsidies.
The Kiggans-Gottheimer plan has 38 total co-sponsors, including the 16 Republicans who have openly broken with the party's right flank to support the extension, according to the report.
Those GOP lawmakers include Reps. Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota of New York; Rob Bresnahan, Ryan Mackenzie, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania; María Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez of Florida; Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean of New Jersey; David Valadao and Kevin Kiley of California; Juan Ciscomani of Arizona; Jeff Hurd of Colorado; Don Bacon of Nebraska; and Monica De La Cruz of Texas, the report said.
Along with extending the tax credits, the bill adds income caps and fraud-prevention measures. It would also require Congress to hold a vote by July 2026 on further reforms aimed at reducing insurance premiums.
One particularly unusual component is procedural: The legislation sets up fast-track rules requiring expedited consideration for future bills dealing with enhanced premium tax credits — providing that at least 10 lawmakers from each party sign on, the report said.
Under the language, relevant committees in both chambers would have five legislative days to advance such proposals before they are automatically discharged to the floor.
House GOP leaders, meanwhile, are preparing to roll out their own healthcare package next week that pointedly does not extend the tax credits.
Johnson argued Wednesday that the Democrats' approach merely continues "COVID-era subsidies" and is "devoid of reforms to clamp down on rampant waste, fraud, and abuse."
In the Senate, Republican committee chairs Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mike Crapo of Idaho are advancing a competing proposal that would let the health coverage subsidies expire and reroute federal assistance into consumer-controlled health savings accounts.
The lawmakers say their plan would cut premiums by 11% by 2027 through "cost-sharing reduction payments."
President Donald Trump endorsed the concept, telling reporters aboard Air Force One, "I don't want to give the insurance companies any money."
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